1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



641 



The kiug-dom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid 

 in a field; the which, when a man hath found, he 

 hideth, and for joythei-eot g-oeth and selleth all that 

 he hath, and buyetli that field. 



Well, tinder the influence of my good 

 mother's patient exhortations, and the pray- 

 ers and kind words of Christian people,' I 

 was led to examine into the claims of tlie 

 Bible. Even when 1 did not propose to 

 abide by its teachings, I began to take a fair 

 honest look at it ; and the inore I examined, 

 the more I felt pleased with the promise it 

 held out, until I finallv began to consider 

 selling all I had to buy it, for 1 began to feel 

 pretty certain that the only way for me to 

 become a Christian was to sell out all I had 

 invested in Satan's domains. ]SIany weeks, 

 and perhaps months, were occupied in debat- 

 ing with myself, and studying over the mat- 

 ter. When I made up my mind, 1 hardly 

 need tell you that I found joy in letting go 

 old things, and investing all I had in the 

 new. One morning I went to see my pastor, 

 and asked him some questions in regard to 

 what I should have to do to become a Chris- 

 tian. I carried along some of my difficulties 

 that I had held fast to while a skeptic. I 

 had read over our church creed, and 1 frank- 

 ly told him that I was not prepared to ans- 

 wer as positively as it seemed a Christian 

 ought to do, many of the things embodied in 

 the creed. 



" Well, Mr. Root." said he, '' what can you 

 say and speak Jionestly in regard to these 

 matters you do not feel satisfied about V " 



■• Why." said I, '" I should have to say 1 

 do not know. I may 'in time be satisfied in 

 regard to these points, and may agree with 

 you and other Christians ; but at the present 

 time I can iu)t honestly subscribe to them 

 all."' 



We went over them together, and I was 

 much relieved to have him tell me that one 

 point after another 1 had stumbled over was 

 of no particular consequence, any way, and 

 that many good people felt just as I did 

 about it exactly. I remeinl)er asking, almost 

 in astonishment, as we got tluough. '' Why, 

 is it possible, Mr. R., that this is all that "is 

 retiuired of a man ? " 



He replied with a good-natured smile, " I 

 think that it is all that is required, Mr. Root. 

 You are sound on all the great essentials. 

 You are willing to obey (iod wherever you 

 are sure he is calling you ; and all these oth- 

 er things are of but very, very small moment 

 indeed." 



Dear friends. I have found it so. Eternal 

 punishment and all tliese other knotty prob- 

 lems belong to God alone, and the trans- 

 gressor. If you are not a transgressor, and 

 do not propose to be, what have you to do 

 with them ? It is indeed a simple thing to 

 decide to follow Christ ; and it does not re- 

 (luire any very great amount of wisdom or 

 education, or any thing else that I know of, 

 except an honest and teachable heart, and a 

 disposition to let God guide you. 



Wliat doth the Lord require of thee, but to do just- 

 ly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy 

 God?-MlCAH6:«. 



And Jesus replied to a similar inquiry, that 

 it is only a disposition to love and ol)ev (lOtl 

 with all our mind, and to do to ourneiglil)ors 

 as we would be done by. What neeti is there 



that we should bother ourselves about great 

 weighty doctrines, so long as these things 

 are so i)lain and easy to be understood? If 

 some should claim you are not orthodox, 

 Avhat matters it V Is it not really true, that 

 the whole matter is plain enough, so that, in 

 the language of our text, where one has a 

 snicere and honest disposition to obey (4od, 

 '' tlie wayfaring men, though fools, shall not 

 err therein " V 



T0B^CC0 GdhUm- 



BEES, ETC., IN NORTH CAROLINA, AND SOMETHING 

 ABOUT TOBACCO. 



fHERE has been a g-reat revolution in bee- 

 keeping in this part of North Carolina in the 

 last five years. I introduced the Italian bees 

 about that time, and the Simplicity hive. I 

 was laughed at by the old fogies at first; but 

 they have quit it since they see my honey selling at 

 12' 2 cts. per lb., and theirs at 7 and 8c. I can sell all 

 I get, either comb or extracted, which is several 

 hundred pounds annually, at that price. A great 

 many others have since bought the Italian bees and 

 the Simplicity hive, and great progress has been 

 made by many. We now have hive factories, im- 

 ported queens, and sell all the modern appliances 

 used by the scientific bee-keeper, and all seem to be 

 satisfied with their investment, and think the busi- 

 ness is paying them. One of the hardest men to 

 convince was a near neighbor, who would not buy 

 cither queen or hives, and as he was one of the 

 most extensive bee-keepers on the old jilan, and I 

 was annoyed-fey his black queens, I gave him some 

 Italian queens, which were introduced in the box 

 hive. He had no faith in their doing any better in 

 that kind of a hive than the black; but they have 

 convinced him, and he now says he will never keep 

 another black bee. 



1 loan him Gleanings, and he saw your proposi- 

 tion to smokers and chewers of tobacco. He asked 

 me if I thought you in earnest. I told him I would 

 risk your doing what you proposed, if he complied 

 with your request, that you required him to pay for 

 the smoker, if he went back to the practice. He 

 said he would cheerfully do that, and I might write 

 you to send it on. I told him I would wait a few 

 weeks and see how he succeeded, as he had followed 

 the practice for many years. His health was bad at 

 that time; he has not touched it for three months, 

 and his health has much improved, and he says ho 

 could not now he induced to resume the practice. 

 Settle, N. C, Aug. 25, 1884. S. Morlan. 



Many thanks, friend S. AVe are always 

 glad to send a smoker under circumstances 

 such as you narrate. 



I saw in your .iournal that you would give one of 

 your smokers free to any one wiio would stop the 

 use of tobaco. I will give up the use of chewing 

 and smoking both. I have 7 stands of bees in Sim- 

 plicity hives. W. Ji'DD. 



Great Bend, Fa., Aug. 28, 1884. 



I have smoked six or seven years. 1 stopped using 

 it the first of June. You can send the smoker, if 

 you want to. I will pay for it if I use it any more. 

 I expect to r.ct use it any more, whether jou send 

 the smoker or not. Wm. W. Gioer. 



Hcltonville. Ipd., Aug. 25, 1884. 



